Calorie counting is a popular and effective way to lose weight. Calorie counts help estimate both your energy intake from food and your energy expenditure through daily activities.
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in, creating a calorie deficit. But in order to do this, you need to know how many calories you use each day.
It all starts with knowing how many calories the average person burns in a day at rest.
Yes, that's right. I said 'at rest' because even at rest, your body never stops. Thankfully. Even reading this article means that you're expending calories. As does sitting on the sofa, or lying in bed.
Your body still needs energy to breathe, to pump blood around your body, to continue the hundreds of biological processes that make you tick. This energy comes from calories.
Calories measure how much energy your body requires to function, and understanding this helps you estimate your personal needs.
Your daily calorie needs depend on factors like age, gender, weight, height, and activity level. Knowing your daily calorie requirement is essential for managing your weight and meeting your energy needs.
By understanding how many calories you burn each day, you can make informed decisions about your diet and exercise.
All about Calories
Calories measure the energy we take in through eating and how much we expend. The energy stored in food is known as potential energy, which our bodies convert into usable fuel.
Calories provide energy for our bodies to perform essential basic functions. A calorie is a unit of heat energy, representing the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of water by one degree Celsius. (1)
Most female adults typically need 1,600–2,200 calories per day, while most male adults need 2,200–3,000 calories per day. Your food intake directly affects your total calorie consumption and energy balance. (2)
Of course, if you’re dieting or trying to lose weight, you’ll want to determine your calorie needs more precisely. Ditto if you're trying to gain weight.
Understanding calorie burning through physical activity and exercise is important for managing your daily energy expenditure.
That starts with learning about your body’s idling state, known as the body’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). You’ll also hear the term Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Technically, the two are different, though they are often used interchangeably.
The Difference between BMR and RMR
A quick word about the difference between Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and Resting metabolic rate (RMR). As I said, both tend to be used interchangeably, but in reality, they are slightly different ways of measuring your body’s calorie use when at rest.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
The BMR assesses the minimum amount of calories your body needs to fulfil its basic body functions, such as breathing, pumping blood around your body etc...
This represents your body's calorie needs for essential functions, similar to the fuel a car needs just to idle. It usually includes a fasted state. The Harris-Benedict equation is one method used to calculate BMR, taking into account factors like age, sex, weight, and height.
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
The RMR includes all of the above, plus includes how many calories you need for additional low-effort activities, such as going to the toilet, eating, sweating, shivering etc… For this reason, it tends to be slightly higher than the BMR.
Both BMR and RMR represent the energy expended by your body at rest to maintain vital functions. (3)
Your BMR is the more accurate way to assess calories burned while at complete rest, which is why we’ll use it here.
Your Body Burns Calories Even While At Rest
You may think lying on the sofa uses no energy at all, when in fact, there are still a bunch of things going on inside your body that require energy.
For example, energy is needed to maintain basic functions such as breathing, circulating blood, and building cells. Even at rest, your body will naturally burn calories to support these essential processes.
As I mentioned, your BMR represents the number of calories you need to perform these essential functions in a given period. Essentially, how many calories your body needs to remain alive.
Your BMR accounts for roughly 60% of your total calorie expenditure in a day, so it's a fair chunk. This means your metabolism is constantly burning calories, even when you are not physically active. (4)
(If you’re interested, your RMR (Resting metabolic rate) accounts for about two-thirds of calorie expenditure, being a little higher as it includes additional basic daily tasks). (5)
What Factors Influence BMR?
Many factors influence BMR and how many calories you burn when at rest. It explains why some people may have a higher BMR than others.
Factors that influence your metabolism and, therefore, the number of calories burned while at rest include:
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Age - your BMR falls with age, most likely due to loss of muscle mass. Both neurological and hormonal changes can also impact BMR.
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Gender - men tend to have a higher BMR than women on average because they are larger and often have more lean muscle mass, due to testosterone.
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Body Size - the more cells and body tissue you have, the more energy is needed to maintain them.
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Body Weight - A person's weight is a key factor, as heavier individuals tend to burn more calories to maintain basic bodily functions.
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Body Composition and Body Fat - while fat or adipose tissue doesn't use as much energy as muscle, fat cells still need energy.
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Muscle mass - having more muscle mass increases your resting metabolic rate, so individuals with greater muscle mass naturally burn more calories at rest.
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Genes - researchers are studying how genes may affect your BMR.
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Medical conditions/ illness - when you're ill, your BMR increases as your body works harder to fight infection etc.. Certain medical conditions, such as elevated thyroid or low thyroid, also impact your BMR.
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Life stages - life stages such as pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause will all impact BMR. (6)
Temporary situations such as hot or cold weather, fasting, or drinking stimulants can also affect your BMR.
Fidgeting is another source of casual energy expenditure. If you like a good leg jiggle, you will actually be burning through more calories.
This type of movement is part of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which includes all the calories burned from activities that are not planned or formal exercise. According to one study, fidgeting could increase your daily calorie burn by up to 350 calories a day. (7)
So if you're seeking weight loss, you might want to try picking up fidgeting as a new habit - much to your friends’ dismay!
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis can account for differences of up to 2000 kilocalories per day between individuals of similar size. Someone who has a physical job, for instance, will likely burn more daily calories than someone who sits at a computer all day. (8)
The varying factors that influence metabolism mean it can sometimes be difficult to determine your BMR accurately. Luckily, there is a simple equation that you can use to help you work out how many calories you burn at rest a day.
Step 1: Calculating Your Own BMR
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is an old-school formula to help you estimate your own BMR, which, as we already know, represents the number of calories your body burns at rest - also known as your baseline calorie burn. (9, 10)
For those who enjoy math - time to get your calculators out! You will also need your weight (kg), height (cm), and age to fill in the formula below. Note that the formula is different for men and women.
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Males: 10 × weight (kg)+ 6.25 × height (cm) – 5 × age + 5 = BMR
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Females: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) – 5 × age – 161= BMR
As I discussed, this figure will give you your basic calorie needs to keep you alive and functioning. This includes powering basic bodily functions like breathing, circulating blood, regulating body temperature, and maintaining essential processes, even when you’re simply relaxing on the couch.
Your daily calorie burn at rest is a key statistic for weight loss and weight loss maintenance.
It's worth noting, however, that while this is still considered the best equation for measuring metabolic rate, it is only 70% accurate. A more accurate measurement would need to be done in a lab with the proper lab equipment, with a weight management specialist. (11)
Optional Step 2: Calculating your Total Daily Calorie Expenditure
Now that you know your BMR, you could stop there. Or you could take it a step further and calculate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which is the total number of calories you burn in a day. Both at rest and while busy.
This gives you a full answer to the question: how many calories do you burn in a day? The answer will be valuable for weight loss.
Calculating your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
TDEE is estimated by multiplying your BMR by an activity factor based on your activity level.
When using activity multipliers, a 'moderately active' person - someone who does moderate exercise like brisk walking for about 30 minutes most days - will have a higher TDEE than someone who is sedentary. Makes sense, doesn't it?
So choose your activity level and get your calculator out again...
Activity Levels:
Sedentary - multiply BMR by 1.2
Lightly active - multiply BMR by 1.375
Moderately active - multiply BMR by 1.55
Active - multiply BMR by 1.725
Very active - multiply BMR by 1.9. (12)
And there you have it! You've worked out how many calories you burn in a day - both at rest (first formula) and at rest and play (first formula + second formula).
Don't worry, if the calculations seem too complex, you can find online calorie counters on the internet. Just be aware that most only provide estimates and should be used as guidelines only.
So, How Many Calories Do People Burn in a Day Without Exercise?
Now we can answer the original question of this article: how many calories does the average person burn a day without exercise?
Average Calories Burned in a Day Without Exercise
On average, most people burn between 1,300 to 2,000 calories per day without any structured physical activity. The difference between the two numbers can be explained by all the factors I discussed above, such as age, gender, muscle tone etc...
For example, a 30-year-old man weighing around 199.8 pounds (90.5 kg) and standing 5’9” (175 cm) tall typically burns about 1,964 calories daily at rest.
Meanwhile, a 30-year-old woman weighing 170 pounds (77.4 kg) and measuring 5’3.5” (157 cm) tall burns approximately 1,516 calories per day.
These numbers are estimates, as the actual number of calories burned depends on factors like muscle mass, body fat, age, sex, and overall health status. (13)
How to Burn More Calories and Enjoy a Calorie Deficit
To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than your body uses, known as a calorie deficit. Losing weight requires careful attention to calorie counts and creating a consistent deficit through diet and activity.
Physical activity and exercise burn calories beyond what your body uses at rest, and incorporating weights as part of your strength training can further boost your metabolism. As can following a structured exercise program.
There are other tricks as well. Remember what I said earlier about stimulants - stimulants such as caffeine can increase your metabolism, which in turn helps to raise your basal metabolic rate (BMR), and maximize your calorie burn.
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